Love Works in Mysterious Ways
by Namantos
Summary: A short-fic dedicated for PriThePuppeteer, my muse and good friend       Set in animé later eps, no spoilers.      Ichigo's hollow takes control, Keigo is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Grimmjow appears. What will happen? Read to find out


**DEDICATED TO: **_**PriThePuppeteer!**_

**Here it is, your christmas-gift.**

**I tried to write it after your requests, so I hope it turned out well. With a twist of my own at the end there, of course ;) Couldn't resist!**

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Ichigo felt it crawling deep within his skin. A burning, itchy feeling, unnerving and sinister in an all too familiar way. It had been gone for so long... Had it finally decided that Ichigo was too weak? It was too soon, Ichigo wasn't ready! He hadn't yet regained enough of his powers, he couldn't possibly have this fight right now. Perhaps it was the training he had been doing that had awoken his inner demon; he should have known the bastard wouldn't remain docile forever. A single sniff of power and he was back, with full power. Ichigo needed help. Chado was the one he thought about, the only one he thought able to deal with this. But what if he got hurt?

_'No, I can't do this on my own.'_ Ichigo shook his head, ignoring the familiar blurr in his vision that always appeared when **he **was about to take control. In desperation he reached for his cell-phone to call Chado, but-

"Yohoo, Ichigo!" A voice halted his movements. Keigo. "What are you doing out here this late?" The brunette invaded Ichigo's personal space, flailing with his arms and gesturing wildly. "Don't you know it's dangerous?" Keigo was completely oblivious to the inner battle within the orange-head male. "I mean, you don't have that crazy power anymore, you have to be careful!I mean, _I_ wouldn't be out here alone if Mizuho hadn't forced me to get her a soda!"

It was getting more and more difficult to keep it leashed; the monster was slowly gaining ground, rooting inside of him again. Biting and clawing at his thorn soul. Keigo's blabbering did nothing but feed Ichigo's annoyance - annoyance and anger had always been **his **anchor; feeding on desperation, thriving in anger. Ichigo's vision slowly turned black, and no amount of will-power could prevent it. An evil laughter echoed in that darkness, a familiar helpessness grabbing hold of him, suffocating him - he had lost the battle...

* * *

><p>"She's always bitching about soda! Why can't she just get her own? Ah, but I couldn't let her walk out here on her own! All those crazy perves might molest her! Not that she's hot or even looks good - she's not even nice! - but desperate perverts takes what they can get, right! Right?" Something was off. Normally Ichigo could have stopped Keigo's rambling even before he got started, but he realized that he had been talking for a while now without being stopped. Silencing himself, Keigo took a closer look at his friend. But what he saw wasn't his friend's smiling face, but a mask. A white mask with red claw-like patterns. <em>'Did he have that mask on earlier?'<em> "Ichigo?"

**"Shut up!"**

Keigo fell backwards both in shock and fear. That voice was not... human. It was echoing, as if spoken from another dimension. Mad. Evil. _Not_ Ichigo's voice. Keigo's heart was beating so fast in his chest he thought it might explode. What was going on? What had happened to Ichigo? What would happen to _Keigo_?

"No..." Keigo begged, lips quivering. "Please dont hurt me! Ichigo!"

**"Ichigo can't hear you now,"** laughed the masked male. **"**_**I'm**_** king now!" **He was practically barking with laughter. There was no words to describe the sound - insanely gleeful, perhaps, but that was still too vague.

"Hollow..." The word escaped Keigo's mouth the moment it appeared in his mind, fleeing from that crevice as if afraid to never be uttered. At once, lost memories returned to the brunette. He remembered Hollows, Arrancars, and also shinigami. Things he had either forgotten or pushed out of his mind. Horrible things. But he could not remember ever seeing Ichigo in this state. _'He's a hollow... or an Arrancar?'_ Either way, Ichigo was dangerous. Something Keigo had to flee from. But he was stuck with his back on the ground and a monster looming above him, both of them covered by the darkness of the late evening. The street was too dark, and too desolate, for any possible bystander to even notice them. Why had Keigo taken this road to get that soda... "Ichigo, what-"

A scream erupted from his lungs at the first sting of pain. A knife? No, it wasn't that sharp, but certainly painful. Keigo's hands shot up to his wounded abdomen and grabbed onto the weapon out of reflex, but whimpered in desperate anguish when he felt a blunt object stabbing his left side. Said object protruded and grew thicker, until it felt like... a hand, an arm. It was a claw, Keigo realized. Ichigo was stabbing him with a claw! No, not Ichigo... This _creature_ was stabbing him, and taking great pleasure in doing so.

"Please, I-"

**"Shut up!"** The claw was forcefully pulled out, only to puncture another part of Keigo's body, this time etching into his chest, just above his collarbone. The monster grinned wickedly at Keigo's cry, took joy in watching tears stream down his face. **"People like you do not deserve to speak to me."** With his free arm, the hollow clenched his fist and punched, watching Keigo's head snap to the other sde, blood already welling out of his mouth. **"Bit your tongue, eh?"** he asked mockingly. Satisfied with the cries, and the blood mixing with tears, he brought his free hand down towards the wound in the brunette's abdomen, and without hesitation stuck a finger inside of it. Keigo writhed beneath him, screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to free himself without adding too much pain; however it was a futile attempt, any movement only increased the pain and damage. **"You'll be my first victim in this form, you should feel honoured."**

Honoured? The pain was too much to allow any other emotion, cutting off any and all rational thought. It was just too much to deal with. If he was going to die, at least make it quick!

Hollow-Ichigo was madly laughing, twisting his claw out of the pathetic boy beneath him, readying to strike it into flesh again when a hand appeared out of nowhere and stopped him. Anger built up and a growl escaped. Hollow-Ichigo was about to prance on the instrudor when he heard a low disappointed grunt and froze.

"Che, 've been looking for your reiatsu for ages, an' when I finally find it this is what I find, " muttered a low voice, strained by disapproval and dry. "A pathetic hollow slashing up some guy."

Hollow-Ichigo's eyes snapped to the side and stared surprised at a tall, muscular blunette with a frown on his face. The hand holding on to Ichigo's wrist was strong, nearly bone-crushing, and the pain it caused changed something on Ichigo's features; he was struggling to regain control.

"The Kurosaki Ichigo I knew would die for his so called _friends_," the blunette continued. "Not kill them."

With a pained grunt Ichigo regained control of his body and mind, only then completely aware of the presence before him. There was no doubt about who it was, even though he had seen him die. How was that even possible?

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo blurted. "But, how-"

"I ain't the one ya should focus on."

"Hell..." Ichigo broke free from Grimmjow's hold and stared down at his petrified friend trying to scramble away from him. "Keigo! Shit, I didn't... I mean, it wasn't me who..." He reached out to touch but Keigo cried out and crawled into a protective ball. "I-" He was suddenly thrown out of the way and the blunette Espada squatted down beside Keigo. Ichigo's anger flared. "Hey, bastard! I will take care of him! I-"

"Yeah?" Grimmjow interrupted, glaring at Ichigo. "Like you took care of him moments ago?"

Ichigo stared, filled with shame, as Grimmjow helped the brunette on his feet and began to lead him away. He had lost control... Lost himself. How could he have attacked Keigo? But... What was Grimmjow doing here? How could he still be alive? And why would he be helping someone he has never met? He stared at his hands, covered by blood. Keigo's blood. He beat his fist against the concrete and screamed.

"Damnit!"

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><p>There was no explanation other than wanting to anger the orange-head even more. He had no reason the save this brunette. But... He seemed somewhat familiar. Grimmjow was certain he had seen him somewhere. Thinking a few moments made him realize the first time he went into this world - after opening the garganta he had spotted a male talking about one thing or another with a friend. That must have been this <em>Keigo<em> person. Strange how he still remembered. His job was done, though; he could just leave the kid to his demise and be on with it. But... He couldn't find it in him to abandon him. The kid was in agony, barely staying on his feet, swaying and clutching his wounds, teeth grinded and eyes brimming with tears. Pathetic, really. But it was the first human Grimmjow had been this close to, he knew nothing of human pain. He just couldn't remember, either. He could remember the feeling of betrayal, though. How he, during his fight with Ichigo in Las Noches, had been attacked by Nnoitra. Granted, they weren't friends, nor did it mean much to be an Espada - that didn't mean they would be allies. They simply had the same... "master"; Aizen. It still hurt to be betrayed i nthat manner, _and_ to be protected by his enemy, Ichigo, whom he wanted to kill more than anything. How he survived... he's barely sure of it himself. Still, seeing this brunette in agony over having been attacked by his friend, Grimmjow somewhat compelled to at least make sure he would survive.

"You okay?" he asked, unsure of how to say it without making it sound like he actually cared.

"Yeah," the brunette cried. "Thanks for... for saving me." He gasped in pain and fell to his knees, blood colouring his hands and dripping onto the ground. "Am I dying?"

"Didn't save you." Grimmjow sat down next to the kid and pried the hands away from the wounds. Lazy electric blue eyes scanned the wounds before he snorted. Without knowing why, Grimmjow pulled out a small box from the pouch he had began carrying with him, and applied the salve on the brunettes wound. "It'll heal," was all he offered. The salve was fast-working and was already beginning to shut the wounds; a little trick he had picked up along the way of his long life of battles. Treating someone else was new, though, and he absently thought about a life without more struggles. "Will leave a scar, though."

"T-Thank you," Keigo whimpered, his fear diminishing slowly as he realized that Grimmjow wouldn't attack him. He looked up at the blunette and blushed. "I'm... I'm Keigo."

"So I heard," Grimmjow mumbled.

"Might I-" The blunette's fingers, prodding and applying salve on his wounds, were harsh, yet they sent a lingering tingle into Keigo's skin; a tingle that traveled through his body, settling in the pit of his stomach. "Who are you?" he settled on asking, trying to figure out why this stranger made him feel so... meaningful, so...so good.

"Grimmjow. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." Finishing with the salve, Grimmjow stared into those brown eyes, his face neutral as he made to leave.

"Wait!" Keigo begged, desperately. His blush deepened in shame, but he was scared to be alone right now. "Wait, can't you... Will you walk me home? I'm... I'm scared that _he_ might come back." He swallowed thickly, praying that he wouldn't be left alone.

"You shouldn't trust me," Grimmjow said, taken aback by the request. However he couldn't refuse - something in this kid had him deeply interested. He has never felt like he needed anyone before, but as much as it seemed that Keigo needed him, Grimmjow felt he needed the brunette aswell. Lost in this world, alone, was not a pleasant idea. "Fine, I'll walk you home."

"Thank you!" Clambering to his feet, nearly grabbing on to Grimmjow's arm to prevent from falling but successfully regained his balance, Keigo began to lead the way, noting with curious excitement that the blunette was indeed following him.

When they finally reached Keigo's home, they stopped outside. The wounds had more or less already healed, but he was still sore and his shirt was ruined and stained with blood. This is where Keigo decided to just ask.

"Are you going back to wherever you came from?" He smiled at Grimmjow's shocked expression. "No offence, but you don't dress all that fashionably. Ichigo has some weird friends from places I couldn't dream of. I assumed you're one of them."

"I am not a friend of Ichigo," he growled, but still smirked at the knowledge the kid pocessed. "You're right, I'm not from your world. But I can't go back. There's nothing for me there." That and he didn't have enough spiritual power to open the garganta again. After his fight with Ichigo and Nnoitra's betrayal, healing his own wounds had left him pretty much drained. Oh, he could still fight, was still number Six, despite the other Espada's deaths. Supposedly, the numbers were useless now, at it was no longer a rank but simply a number.

"You need a place to stay?" The question was out before Keigo knew it, and he almost regretted it. However... "I guess I owe you for saving me and healing me, so... Letting you stay is the least I can offer." Besides, it's not the first stranger he had letten into his home.

"You'd... let me stay here?" The brunette nodded, and Grimmjow found himself accepting. "Fine. But you better feed me, too. I'm starving!" And he was.

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Two months later, Grimmjow still hadn't left Keigo's apartment. He rather enjoyed having someone cook for him and talk to all day. He wasn't very sociable himself, but in his confused state he found it quite refreshing. He had ended up staying in Keigo's room, seeing as all the other rooms were already occupied, and since it was only Keigo who could see him it made for a perfect deal. No one bothered him. And he did have a chance to listen to Keigo talk about how Ichigo was trying to make amends, but that the brunette simply had trouble trusting the orange-head these days. Besides, he felt this strange connection building up between himself and the brunette, and being the possessive kitten he is he wasn't quite content with giving it up just yet. He finally thought he had it figured out, and tonight he would test his conclusion.

That evening, when Keigo returned home, he immediately spotted Grimmjow sitting on his bed, reading one of his comics. It was part of the norms, these days, and Keigo found he enjoyed coming home to someone other than his sister or parents. His parents had gone on another business-trip, though, and his sister had finally caught herself a new boyfriend, which left Keigo and Grimmjow to take full advantage of the apartment over the weekend.

"Hey, I'm home!" he greeted. "Just gonna take a quick shower, then I'll cook something!" He grabbed clean clothes and went into the bathroom.

Grimmjow was just smirking atop the bed, happy that he was no longer alone in the apartment, and that he could test his theory soon enough.

...

Later, when they had eaten and was lazying on the couch watching some movie, Grimmjow grew tired of waiting. A cat is known to be impulsive, and Grimmjow is no exception. However, during his time with Keigo, he has learned to be polite (even if it's mostly fake from his side - he uses this skill whenever he wants something). So he carefully shifted in his seat to stare at the brunette, whom was lying down on the couch next to him, head resting on the arm-rest and his eyes glued to the TV-screen.

"Mind if I crawl up beside you?" he asked with a low voice, sounding as innocent as he could muster.

"W-What?" Keigo swallowed. "Won't that seem... a little, I don't know, _gay_?"

"Who's here to judge," Grimmjow shrugged, not bothered with how it would seem. "It's just the two of us here."

"R-Right." Red as a tomatoe, Keigo shifted over to let Grimjow slide in in front of him, not comfortable with having someone behind him.

Unbothered with the offered position, Grimmjow slid down and settled in nicely before Keigo's body. Luckily the couch was rather small, so to avoid falling off he had to press his back against the brunette, enjoying the warmth. He could feel Keigo shift behind him, trying to find a position in which he wasn't touching Grimmjow in a disapproving manner - however Grimmjow _wanted _just that. Stretching like a cat, jutting out with his back to grind his bottom against Keigo, he felt the brunette's breathing pick up and his body go stiff; not in the place he desired, though. He let out a small moan after his stretch, and that finally had something twitch behind him. That _something_ he was looking for. Bucking back into that twitching organ, Grimmjow smirked and grabbed Keigo's arm before he could bolt off the couch, holding it against his hip.

"Don't run," he murmured, gliding Keigo's hand in circles on his hipbone, knowingly sliding it beneath his shirt. Fingers touching skin, and the teenager breathing hard behind him - most likely in fear, but he'd have to change that. "You don't want what I'm offering?" When there was no answer, Grimmjow glanced up to find a drooling brunette staring at him as if he was starving and Grimmjow was a piece of meat, served and ready to eat. Good, because he _was_. He was just dying to be ravished. "Oi, Kei-kun..." He purposefully grinded his backside more forcefully into the younger male's body, watching the absolutely gorgeous blush turn even darker. "What are you waiting for? Just kiss me, already!"

It was an order - an order Keigo could not refuse. Immediately he leant down and captured those waiting lips with his own, offering a tentative yet needy, inexperienced kiss. It was sloppy, it was far from perfect, but it was good enough for Grimmjow; and Keigo was not complaining. The blunette needed this. Needed to feel in control, to make someone else uncomfortable, needed something to battle against. Currently he was battling the urge to grab the reins and overpower the brunette, but the most exciting part of this battle was that he wasn't fighting for power, but fighting to stay submissive. He could still lead and be submissive. He would still get what he wanted. And putting Keigo on the spot, demanding he'd take action, was all part of Grimmjow's game, making him feel that much more accomplished. He broke free from the sloppy kiss, ignoring the annoying drool dripping down his chin, and forced Keigo to look at him.

"Listen, kid," he demanded, sounding every bit like the predator he used to be. "One of us is gonna have a sore ass tomorrow, an' if you don't want that to be you, you better start fucking me right now."

Gulping, Keigo nodded.

Needless to say, but Grimmjow was grateful for Keigo's inexperience, and his readiness to get more experienced. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, because normally Grimmjow would not submit to anyone. He would soon show Keigo a whole new world, from the bottom of the bed (or couch), and he would enjoy every bit of it. Maybe... Maybe it was fate that brought Grimmjow to save Keigo that day. Perhaps he could finally... finally settle down and be free from a world of war. _Love_ is no much better...

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_**The End**_

_**I apologize for grammatical errors and misspellings.**_

_**I hope you liked it ^^**_

_**/Namantos**_


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